Only On Paper

14 - Tally Ho

"Come on," Gideon groans. "You're telling me nobody got a look at one of those things?"

"You think anyone wanted to poke their head around a corner?" Fjenne bites back. "I mean, did you actually listen to them moving around?"

"Yeah, they sounded light. No real weapons."

"That's what you took away from this?" Hayes scoffs. "Enemies that appear under-armed in unknown territory - especially where the Vex are concerned - is a huge red flag."

Gideon looks between Fjenne and Hayes. "I don't follow."

"We all saw what happened further up," Hayes continues, surprisingly calm. "The huge platform with the big guns? Those singing and glowing ones that made you feel..." He pauses and shivers, "Made you feel like you're just a dream... The point is," He seems to regain himself, "They're serious about keeping us out of here."

"If those were the only defenses they had, why would there be patrols down further?" Vario chimes in, casually leaning against a pillar.

"Alright, alright!" Gideon holds up his hands. "I get it. What I don't get is why their being light equates to them having bigger guns."

Fjenne laughs. "Nobody said anything about guns," She looks at me, "Does your friend have anything to add here? Maybe the Ghosts?"

I pull the machine gun off my back. "Thoughts?"

"Truthfully, my knowledge of anything in this Vault ends with the Templar," It says, making a sound like a low groan. "Pahanin instilled me with everything he knew. However, he only knew as much as his brief journey in with Kabr, before he fled. When he returned to discover what became of Kabr, there was nothing left for him to learn."

"Well, that relic I used before was forged by Kabr, yes?" I ask, and there's a hum of agreement "And the Ghosts said it was-"

"'The thinking flesh of the Vex'." The gun says reverently.

"The Vex platforms above were nowhere near powerful enough to sustain the energy flow from the object." My Ghost says, materializing alongside the other five.

Vario's Ghost continues the thought: "The object's material origins were of something far more powerful," It gives a a stuttering beep, "Based on the power surge we saw from the platforms in the labyrinth, I'd say it's likely Kabr used one of them for his creation."

"Going on on it's general shape and makeup," Hayes's Ghost joins. "We can hypothesize that it was likely a much larger, much more powerful type of Harpy platform."

"We hope this helps to put your mind at ease, Hunter." Asher's Ghost cocks toward Gideon as it speaks.

Gideon hesitates before giving a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I can't say that it does," He looks at Fjenne and Hayes, then back at the Ghosts. "Any clues as to what their weapons may or may not have consisted of?"

"None at this time." One of the little machines says.

"Time is likely a good guess," The gun says with a voice like recollection. "Considering the entire nature of the Vault. Pahanin had said Kabr talked about Atheon's will being a 'needle that moves through frayed time'." It pauses for a moment before asking me, "Do you remember those harpies you fought on Mars?"

"Vaguely," I respond. "I don't see where this is going."

"Think about it," It urges. "Why were there Vex from the Vault - this Vault - on Mars, attacking you?"

I recall the event, and I do distinctly remember the gun using the name 'Atheon'. I didn't think much of it then, I suppose, too much going on at the time.